Tokyo

The last stop on the trip was Tokyo. Cookie Monster and BearDog drive a train.

At the Tokyo National Museum I tried to try on a samurai hat.

BearDog meets RacoonDog!

The Edo Tokyo Museum was not your typical boring museum. They had hands-on (climb-in) activities.

And little scale models of old villages.

And tatami rooms.

Also weird singing/dancing shows outside a model kabuki theater.

Cookie Monster and BearDog wrap up a good three week Japan vacation.

Nikko

The JR train station in Nikko was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

This is another famous bridge.

The fall colors were really nice in this garden.

Someone needs to let them know that drawing a picture on the building is cheating.

I guess the temple was under construction, no pictures allowed. Here's instructions for how to build a temple though, in case you're interested.

These are the famous hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil, see-no-evil monkeys.

Miscellaneous Japan

Doritos without Red 40!

They are serious about their "to go" packing. At McDonald's they even put the drink in its own bag inside the bag.

Finely.

Settings include heated seat, warm water, shower front, shower rear, powerful deodorizer, flushing sound, and probably a few more that I didn't understand.

More toilet instructions, definitely a different kind of toilet.

On an unrelated note, they like green drinks, green soup, green ice cream (all green tea-based, it turns out)...

It seems like all available land is taken up by rice fields. This was a common sight out the train windows.

Also lots of orange trees.

We visit with Orinchan.

Bear-Dog reads his NOOK on the train. He enjoys traveling.

Ninja Village

There are several Ninja Villages in Japan.

And a ninja train station.

Ninjas lived in ninja houses, full of sneaky tricks so they could protect themselves. For instance, there is a hole behind the front door so intruders will stumble and trip.

Cookie Monster warns Bear-Dog but he falls in anyway.

Bear-Dog makes it through and relaxes in one of the rooms on the ground floor. Whew.

Watch out, Bear-Dog... it's a trap! The ninja can climb up to the second floor and cut the rope to drop the ceiling and all the rocks!

Don't worry, Bear-Dog pushes aside the fireplace and escapes safely into the secret tunnel under the house.

Time for some ninja practice:
wall climbing...

...sneaking...

...crawling over rooftops...

...and throwing stars.

(and sometimes cookies).

Kyoto

This is a famous contemporary Japanese garden, in real-life Japan.

Cookie Monster borrowed Bear-Dog's hat, he was chilly. It's a good thing they're pals.

This was another garden in front of a temple. Bear-Dog and Cookie Monster are brave!

Celica! This is only the second one I've seen in two weeks in Japan... Japan Celica rate = 1/week. Less than the USA, surprisingly. Maybe they're not marketed here. Or possibly too old.

This is a famous bridge, the "moon-crossing" bridge, Togetsu-kyo. I don't know why. It looks like a normal wooden bridge to me.

There was a game store in Kyoto with all sorts of games, including N64 games (and GameBoy, Famicom, and Playstation 2 games)! I bought Star Kirby, which hopefully doesn't have a story line that is too involved.

Bamboo forest.

Golden Pavilion. It's made of real gold. I bet it's shiny when the sun is out, but I was there right before sunset on a cloudy day. (It was still gold though.)

It's good luck to toss a yen coin into the bucket... Cookie Monster offers a cookie instead!

Nabe party at Demian's house! Pork and tofu and lots of vegetables cooked in hot broth. Mmm.

Kanazawa

Kanazawa's Kenroku-en Garden is supposedly one of the best gardens in Japan.

Today happened to be Culture Day holiday, so admission to the park was free. Surprisingly though there weren't many people out at the park.

Cookie Monster and Bear-Dog enjoy the park.

I will make my backyard look like this. I will route the water from my moat.

Nearby is Kanazawa Castle. Cookie Monster and Bear-Dog scale the wall to attack the castle.

I went over the bridge and through the doorway instead, it seemed easier.

Cookie Monster and Bear-Dog relax after their hard day.